Written Answers Tuesday 16 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what common information is required from applicants when applying for agricultural support under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme, the Single Farm Payment Scheme, Land Management Contracts and the Rural Stewardship Scheme.

Ross Finnie: The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) forms are completed by applicants who wish to declare land to support or claim the following schemes: Single Farm Payment Scheme, Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme, Scottish Beef Calf Scheme, Land Management Contract Menu Scheme, Protein Crop Premium, Energy Crop Scheme and Nuts Aid Scheme.

  The IACS forms consist of the Single Application Form (SAF), Field Data Sheets (FDS) which list individual fields and their usage, and the Land and Business Change form. The SAF and FDS form are pre-printed by Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department as far as possible with details taken from the previous year’s claim to assist claimants. The key identifier details on the SAF are the business reference number, main farm code, business name and address, contact name, phone and fax details, and email address. On the FDS these are business name, main farm code and business reference number. If a claimant requires to update any of this key preprinted information, he completes the Land and Business Change form.

  For the Land Management Contract Menu Scheme, applicants completed a supplementary form on their selected options. The key identifier details are main farm code, business reference number and correspondence address. These details were not pre-printed in this first year of the scheme, but will be in future years.

  Applicants to the Rural Stewardship Scheme are asked on their initial application form to supply their main farm code, business name, address and telephone number, status, the farm code(s) of the croft, farm or common grazings to which the application applies, and whether the business is registered for VAT. All other information on the application form is scheme-specific. Subsequent claim forms are pre-printed with common information taken from the application form: main farm code, business name, address and telephone number, and the farm code(s) of the croft, farm or common grazings to which the application applies.

Bankruptcy

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff from Bankruptcy in Scotland transferred from Edinburgh to Irvine on relocation of the office and how many declined to do so.

Hugh Henry: I have asked Gillian Thompson, Chief Executive of Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Following the announcement in December 2003 that Accountant in Bankruptcy was to relocate to Ayrshire, the then 65 substantive members of staff were consulted as to their level of interest in remaining with the agency post relocation. A number expressed an initial interest but in the event one member of staff relocated.

Bankruptcy

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all enquiries that were previously dealt with by Bankruptcy in Scotland when located in Edinburgh are now being exclusively dealt with by the office in Irvine and, if not, to whom enquiries are being referred for answer, where they are located and how many staff are engaged in providing support to the Irvine office.

Hugh Henry: I have asked Gillian Thompson, Chief Executive of Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is as follows:

  As part of Accountant in Bankruptcy’s transfer of work strategy the agency’s helpline was transferred to Ayrshire in April this year. Enquiries relating to specific cases are dealt with by the relevant case officer. Since December 2004 all new cases have been dealt with by the agency’s Ayrshire-based staff, however, a team of 27 is being retained in Edinburgh for a period to provide support to Ayrshire colleagues, to run down existing cases and also deal with the more complex cases.

Companies Act 1985

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many company directors have been (a) imprisoned and (b) fined over the last 10 years for approving accounts which do not comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 1985 and what the maximum (i) prison sentence and (ii) fine is which may be imposed for this offence.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many company directors were found guilty of approving accounts which did not comply with the Companies Act 1985 in each year since 1987.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many company directors have been found guilty of failing to keep adequate accounting records in each year since 1987 and what penalties were imposed.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies were (a) found guilty and (b) fined for not disclosing to the public that a director has (i) resigned and (ii) been appointed within two weeks of that resignation under section 288 of the Companies Act 1985 in each year since 1987.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to this area of company law, which is reserved to the UK government.

Crime

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the Safe City Centres Initiative has had on crime in Aberdeen city centre.

Hugh Henry: The Safe City Centres Initiative has undertaken a number of projects in Aberdeen city centre. For example, three car parks attained the Park Mark award under the Safer Parking Award Scheme. The total reported crime incidents in these car parks has reduced significantly compared with the previous year. Due to its success, the initiative intends to extend Park Mark to other city centre sites in the near future. The Safe City Centres co-ordinator was also involved in the application for the dispersal order at Beach Boulevard which has seen a reduction of nearly 13% in nuisance complaints over the last five months. Other initiatives such as car crime awareness schemes, proof of age cards and a retail crime network are also expected to have a positive impact on reducing crime and the fear of crime in Aberdeen city centre in the years ahead.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary school-aged children it is estimated that there will be in each of the next five academic years.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is set out in the following table.

  

 Year
 Projected Number of 4 to 11-Year-Old Children*


 2005-06
 454,100


 2006-07
 444,300


 2007-08
 437,000


 2008-09
 429,800


 2009-10
 421,000



  Note: *Ages at June of each year.

  The figures above are taken from the General Registers of Scotland population projections. Not every four-year-old or 11-year-old will be in primary school and not every child will be in public sector schools.

Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in response to the conclusions of the Royal Society of Chemistry's survey of May 2005, Snuffing out the Bunsen Burners , that 22.3% of local authority schools are refusing access to chemistry courses due to lack of chemistry teachers, 30.7% of local authority schools have a shortage of chemistry teachers and 64.9% of local authority schools are using non-specialist supply staff to cover chemistry classes.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in response to the recent report from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Sniffing out the Bunsen Burners , highlighting an apparent shortage of chemistry teachers in schools.

Peter Peacock: Vacancies indicated by local authorities on February 2005 were 19 chemistry, 11 of which were for more than three months. That is 1.9% and 1.2% respectively of the full teaching complement in the subject. These figures do not support the vacancy level suggested by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

  Entrants to chemistry Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses in 2004-05 were up by 15% compared to 2003-04 as part of the build towards the general commitment in the Partnership for a Better Scotland to teacher workforce to 53,000 by 2007. As of 1 August, university acceptances for Chemistry PGCE places totalled 102 for academic year 2005-06, as against an intake of 53 for 2004-05.

Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that sufficient graduates in chemistry will be available to fill all teaching posts for the foreseeable future.

Peter Peacock: In 2005, 102 people have accepted a place on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education in Chemistry, which represents an increase of 92% compared with the intake of 53 in 2004. This suggests that currently sufficient numbers of chemistry students are applying for initial teacher education.

  As with all aspects of teacher workforce planning this is an issue that is kept under annual review.

Education

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies currently exist in secondary schools for teachers in (a) mathematics, (b) physics, (c) chemistry, (d) biology and (e) English.

Peter Peacock: The latest information available from the teacher vacancies survey returned by local authorities at February 2005 is provided in the following table.

  

 Subject
 Number of Vacancies more than 3 Months*
 Percentage of the Full Teacher Complement


 Maths
 33
 1.3


 Physics
 11
 1.3


 Chemistry
 12
 1.2


 Biology
 6
 0.5


 English
 39
 1.5



  Note: *Vacancies over three months are used as the most appropriate indicator of longer term vacancies.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women became teachers in the maintained school sector in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in each year since 1970.

Peter Peacock: This information is not held centrally.

Education

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newly qualified teachers will be entering schools in August 2005 and how this compares with the most recently collected figures for teacher vacancies not filled after a three-month period, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: The following table shows the latest information available for primary and secondary teacher vacancies at February 2005 and the probationer allocations at July 2005 expected to enter schools in August 2005, broken down by local authority area.

  

 Local Authority
 Primary
 Secondary


 Teacher Vacancies not filled after a 3 Months Period*
ProbationerTeacher Induction Scheme
 Teacher Vacancies not filled after a 3 Months Period*
ProbationerTeacher Induction Scheme


 Aberdeen City
 17
 29
 39
 52


 Aberdeenshire
 16
 76
 32
 54


 Angus
 -
 41
 -
 28


 Argyll and Bute
 7
 17
 9
 13


 Clackmannanshire
 -
 12
 3
 6


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 36
 8
 21


 Dundee City
 27
 18
 28
 16


 East Ayrshire
 1
 39
 -
 36


 East Dunbartonshire
 1
 24
 1
 42


 East Lothian
 1
 46
 -
 40


 East Renfrewshire
 -
 75
 -
 64


 Edinburgh, City of
 -
 87
 -
 87


 Eilean Siar
 -
 6
 9
 7


 Falkirk
 -
 46
 -
 51


 Fife
 8
 80
 4
 77


 Glasgow City
 16
 118
 28
 127


 Highland
 2
 60
 6
 48


 Inverclyde
 -
 7
 -
 18


 Midlothian
 -
 21
 3
 27


 Moray
 -
 30
 10
 29


 North Ayrshire
 -
 54
 -
 47


 North Lanarkshire
 13
 153
 16
 114


 Orkney Islands
 -
 9
 1
 7


 Perth and Kinross
 1
 41
 5
 28


 Renfrewshire
 -
 32
 13
 39


 Scottish Borders
 1
 25
 5
 16


 Shetland Islands
 -
 6
 1
 8


 South Ayrshire
 -
 25
 2
 18


 South Lanarkshire
 2
 91
 6
 123


 Stirling
 5
 29
 2
 44


 West Dunbartonshire
 12
 42
 12
 42


 West Lothian
 2
 34
 3
 32



  Note: *The numbers for teacher vacancies include headteachers and teachers.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils have been found to be in possession of (a) a weapon or (b) drugs on school premises in each of the last five years.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive has encouraged local authorities to ensue that they monitor data on incidents in schools in order to meet their responsibilities towards the safety and well-being of staff and pupils.

Fire Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which fire stations have (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 1997.

Hugh Henry: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 Year
 Closed
 Opened


 1997
1 – Central Scotland (Lochearnhead - Volunteer)
 0


 1998
 0
 0


 1999
 0
 0


 2000
 0
 0


 2001
 0
1 – Lothian and Borders (Lauder - Retained)


 2002
1 – Dumfries and Galloway (Drumore – Volunteer)
 0


 2003
 0
 0


 2004
 0
1 – Dumfries and Galloway (Drumore -Volunteer)


 2005 (to date)
1 – Tayside (Airlie – Volunteer)
 0



  Some fire and rescue services have altered fire station premises or relocated stations within the same local area. Those changes have not reduced the level of fire cover provided and are therefore not included in the above table. A significant number of those changes have involved the enhancement of existing premises and consequent improvements in fire cover.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled on (a) the day of and (b) the day after admission, and how many of the patients involved were not readmitted within a month in each quarter of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not available centrally.

  Limited information is available on the number of in-patient/day case episodes where operations/procedures were not carried out following admission. Table 1 shows information on the number of in-patient and day case episodes where operations/procedures were cancelled following admission for calendar years 2000-04, and the number of patients who were not subsequently admitted to hospital for an operation within 30 days of discharge. It is not possible to identify on what day the operation was cancelled.

  Table 1 - Cancelled operations1,2,3

  

 Year
 Quarter
 Cancelled Operations
 No Subsequent Admission Within 30 Days


 2000
 January to March
 3,876
 2,717


 
 April to June
 3,843
 2,675


 
 July to September
 3,715
 2,571


 
 October to December
 3,921
 2,820


 2001
 January to March
 4,119
 2,788


 
 April to June
 3,453
 2,412


 
 July to September
 3,596
 2,462


 
 October to December
 3,567
 2,449


 2002
 January to March
 3,731
 2,583


 
 April to June
 3,180
 2,211


 
 July to September
 3,233
 2,212


 
 October to December
 3,307
 2,309


 2003
 January to March
 3,509
 2,369


 
 April to June
 3,368
 2,268


 
 July to September
 3,415
 2,231


 
 October to December
 3,558
 2,438


 2004P
 January to March
 3,520
 2,356


 
 April to June
 3,530
 2,335


 
 July to September
 3,376
 2,247


 
 October to December
 3,152
 2,136



  Source: SMR01.

  PProvisional.

  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on inpatient and day case discharges in Scotland.

  2. Patients whose operations were cancelled are identified using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Other Health Related Problems, tenth revision (ICD10) code Z53 - Persons encountering health services for specific procedures, not carried out. However, it should be noted that the use of this code may vary from hospital to hospital.

  3. No information is available on the intended type of operation when an operation is cancelled. The "no operation" within 30 days figures are calculated by checking there was not an operation (any code) within 30 days of discharge from hospital.

  Operations can be cancelled due to various unforeseen pressures. Some examples of these are; an influx of emergency admissions, widespread staff sickness, theatre equipment failure or infection in wards.

  On occasions, some patients may be sent home, following admission, when a planned procedure/operation has not been carried out. Some reasons for this include; patient being unfit for treatment due to illness (e.g. chest infection), having omitted to fast before admission, failing to follow pre-admission advice on medication or where theatre time is unavailable due to unexpected complications arising in earlier theatre cases.

  In setting out my initial response to David Kerr’s report on the future shape of the NHS in Scotland, I made it clear that I supported his proposals that we should stream planned care, separating it, where possible, from emergency care. I have asked the Regional Planning Groups to develop arrangements for streaming planned care that will reduce cancellations, increase predictability and workflow and reduce waiting times.

Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mortgage repossession orders have been made in each court district in each year since 1979.

Cathy Jamieson: The number of repossession orders granted by the courts up to 2002 is published in the annual Civil Judicial Statistics. However, as noted in the recent research paper Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions in Scotland (Bib. number 26213), the published figures do not serve as reliable indicators of the number of repossessions or the related trends – the proportion of orders resulting in repossession is dependent on mortgages lenders’ practices. In addition, the research paper reported errors and inconsistencies in data collation and the Scottish Court Service is currently reviewing systems to resolve this.

Justice

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to improve the security of people of all races and faiths, in light of reports of a recent upsurge in racist attacks throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom.

Cathy Jamieson: The police are committed to doing all they can to allay community fears by close liaison with communities themselves, by explaining their procedures for tackling racial incidents, by encouraging those affected to report attacks (including via third-party reporting), and by meeting with faith and community leaders.

  The Scottish Police Service is well aware of the damage such incidents cause to community relations and will provide a robust response.

Justice

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to protect places of worship from sectarian and racially-motivated attacks.

Cathy Jamieson: We have made it clear that racist attacks on individuals, organisations, premises or groups will not be tolerated in Scotland. The police will continue to monitor the situation and are fully prepared and ready to respond.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male, (b) female and (c) ethnic minority medical consultants there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The question requires a considerable level of detail in the answer and a copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37231).

  The tables show information on the headcount number of consultants in post by gender and from ethnic minority groups by NHS board since 1999. Latest available data is at 30 September 2004.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which police stations have (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on which police stations have opened and closed in each year since 1997 is not held centrally.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-9973 answered on 9 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

School Meals

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have received free school meals in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: Table 1 shows how many children have received free school meals in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area. This table shows a steady decline in the number of pupils taking free school meals. However, this decline in absolute numbers must be considered in the context of an overall decrease in the school roll, a decrease in the overall numbers of pupils taking school lunches and increasing overall levels of prosperity in Scotland’s communities.

  Table 2 and Graph 1 show free school meals as a percentage of total school meals, which gives a more realistic picture of the change in uptake of free meals. In particular, the table shows that the percentage of pupils taking free school meals has been stable since 2003.

  Number of Pupils Taking Free School Meals on the School Meals Survey date in January 1999-2005

  

 
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Scotland
 108,409
 109,953
 103,289
 100,203
 96,742
 95,279
 89,189


 Aberdeen City
 2,801
 3,001
 2,699
 2,594
 2,416
 2,447
 2,453


 Aberdeenshire
 1,987
 2,133
 2,071
 1,850
 1,785
 1,940
 2,007


 Angus
 1,172
 1,313
 1,337
 1,226
 1,337
 1,351
 1,391


 Argyll and Bute
 1,454
 1,441
 1,241
 1,226
 1,214
 1,139
 1,043


 Clackmannanshire
 1,370
 1,314
 1,217
 1,170
 1,077
 1,063
 1,080


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2,145
 2,201
 1,993
 1,856
 1,759
 1,677
 1,687


 Dundee City
 3,324
 3,279
 2,966
 3,015
 2,861
 2,648
 2,303


 East Ayrshire
 3,181
 3,249
 2,987
 2,970
 2,901
 2,769
 2,541


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,401
 1,385
 1,324
 1,278
 1,202
 1,102
 997


 East Lothian
 1,144
 1,235
 1,086
 996
 1,046
 1,127
 1,047


 East Renfrewshire
 1,200
 1,138
 1,122
 1,093
 1,058
 978
 1,033


 Edinburgh, City of
 7,815
 7,977
 7,370
 7,088
 6,936
 7,093
 6,275


 Eilean Siar
 436
 396
 377
 328
 276
 347
 333


 Falkirk
 3,268
 3,362
 3,218
 3,288
 3,300
 3,245
 3,135


 Fife
 7,365
 7,294
 6,713
 6,446
 6,179
 6,318
 6,642


 Glasgow City
 23,562
 23,892
 22,927
 22,654
 21,083
 20,726
 19,833


 Highland
 3,337
 3,135
 3,113
 2,948
 2,791
 2,888
 2,742


 Inverclyde
 2,304
 2,461
 2,200
 2,200
 2,036
 2,055
 1,903


 Midlothian
 1,540
 1,536
 1,502
 1,402
 1,434
 1,383
 1,050


 Moray
 1,087
 1,141
 982
 968
 944
 904
 915


 North Ayrshire
 4,635
 4,513
 4,248
 4,073
 3,889
 3,734
 3,622


 North Lanarkshire
 8,583
 8,739
 8,251
 8,056
 7,769
 7,695
 7,004


 Orkney Islands
 217
 216
 365
 420
 472
 510
 461


 Perth and Kinross
 1,285
 1,204
 1,132
 1,131
 1,059
 1,101
 969


 Renfrewshire
 3,723
 4,240
 4,006
 3,797
 3,806
 3,653
 2,880


 Scottish Borders
 904
 1,060
 981
 898
 890
 862
 776


 Shetland Islands
 237
 246
 233
 188
 193
 187
 204


 South Ayrshire
 2,014
 2,094
 1,999
 1,949
 1,919
 1,842
 1,729


 South Lanarkshire
 6,763
 6,601
 5,991
 5,882
 5,691
 5,476
 4,820


 Stirling
 1,457
 1,491
 1,420
 1,329
 1,252
 1,211
 1,083


 West Dunbartonshire
 3,598
 3,562
 3,193
 2,924
 3,073
 2,732
 2,366


 West Lothian
 3,100
 3,104
 3,025
 2,960
 3,094
 3,073
 2,859


 Grant aided1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 3
 6



  Note: 1. Mainstream grant aided only. Included in Glasgow until 2004.

  Percentage of Free Meals Taken as a Percentage of All Meals Taken, Primary and Secondary Sectors 1999–2005

  

 
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Scotland
 34.2%
 33.0%
 31.1%
 29.1%
 28.3%
 28.4%
 28.3%


 Aberdeen City 
 23.8%
 25.2%
 22.5%
 22.4%
 21.8%
 19.8%
 20.5%


 Aberdeenshire 
 13.2%
 12.4%
 12.6%
 10.9%
 10.8%
 11.6%
 11.8%


 Angus 
 26.9%
 24.4%
 18.9%
 18.2%
 19.6%
 21.4%
 21.4%


 Argyll and Bute 
 21.7%
 19.1%
 17.5%
 17.7%
 16.6%
 16.8%
 16.6%


 Clackmannanshire 
 40.6%
 42.0%
 39.4%
 36.2%
 34.4%
 38.1%
 42.6%


 Dumfries and Galloway 
 17.1%
 17.1%
 15.8%
 14.4%
 15.3%
 16.6%
 19.0%


 Dundee City 
 41.6%
 44.1%
 40.3%
 38.0%
 35.8%
 40.5%
 32.9%


 East Ayrshire 
 44.7%
 43.1%
 41.5%
 38.7%
 37.5%
 34.9%
 33.5%


 East Dunbartonshire 
 17.8%
 15.6%
 16.4%
 14.7%
 15.3%
 14.7%
 14.1%


 East Lothian 
 28.3%
 26.2%
 22.5%
 20.0%
 21.8%
 22.1%
 23.3%


 East Renfrewshire 
 19.5%
 20.4%
 18.0%
 16.1%
 14.0%
 13.3%
 16.4%


 Edinburgh, City of
 49.6%
 48.7%
 46.6%
 45.4%
 43.9%
 41.3%
 39.4%


 Eilean Siar 
 18.8%
 18.6%
 17.8%
 14.9%
 13.1%
 16.7%
 16.3%


 Falkirk 
 30.0%
 29.8%
 27.7%
 27.6%
 27.5%
 27.0%
 25.7%


 Fife 
 28.9%
 29.7%
 28.4%
 23.3%
 25.0%
 26.1%
 27.5%


 Glasgow City 
 62.0%
 58.6%
 58.0%
 57.5%
 52.8%
 54.4%
 55.1%


 Highland 
 25.2%
 22.8%
 23.5%
 22.1%
 17.2%
 16.9%
 17.5%


 Inverclyde 
 33.0%
 32.6%
 32.4%
 31.2%
 31.1%
 33.9%
 33.6%


 Midlothian 
 29.8%
 23.9%
 23.7%
 18.3%
 18.7%
 16.4%
 14.6%


 Moray 
 22.9%
 23.5%
 22.3%
 19.5%
 18.8%
 17.2%
 17.1%


 North Ayrshire 
 41.4%
 41.6%
 41.2%
 40.1%
 38.0%
 38.6%
 40.7%


 North Lanarkshire 
 50.2%
 49.4%
 40.0%
 34.2%
 33.2%
 34.0%
 33.8%


 Orkney Islands 
 9.8%
 9.5%
 16.9%
 18.0%
 21.1%
 23.3%
 21.5%


 Perth and Kinross 
 20.4%
 18.2%
 15.8%
 14.6%
 15.0%
 15.1%
 13.6%


 Renfrewshire 
 41.5%
 32.7%
 32.2%
 30.6%
 29.9%
 30.6%
 34.0%


 Scottish Borders 
 17.3%
 18.4%
 15.8%
 16.6%
 16.5%
 14.3%
 16.5%


 Shetland Islands 
 7.6%
 7.8%
 7.6%
 5.9%
 6.0%
 6.0%
 6.7%


 South Ayrshire 
 25.3%
 26.7%
 26.8%
 24.6%
 22.9%
 28.0%
 27.5%


 South Lanarkshire
 32.1%
 31.7%
 29.2%
 28.8%
 29.0%
 26.3%
 27.2%


 Stirling
 28.1%
 22.2%
 21.1%
 19.1%
 18.1%
 18.2%
 16.3%


 West Dunbartonshire
 41.7%
 50.4%
 39.5%
 36.9%
 37.5%
 38.4%
 38.5%


 West Lothian
 31.4%
 30.0%
 28.6%
 26.9%
 27.1%
 26.0%
 24.6%



  Graph 1

Sport

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: Since 2000, the Scottish Executive, via  sportscotland, has awarded an annual grant of £100,000 to the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland (CGCS) for core administration and strategic planning. I announced on 15 August 2005 that this award has been increased by £10,000 to £110,000 per annum.

  I also announced that same day sportscotland’s award of £1,077,300, consisting of Exchequer and Lottery Sports Fund support, to seven Commonwealth sports (boxing, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting, badminton and bowling). Also, 11 of the sports competing at the Commonwealth Games will benefit from an additional £185,922 from the Lottery Sports Fund. This funding will enhance the athlete preparation for and medal potential at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

  In November 2002, the First Minister launched the Commonwealth Games (Scotland) Endowment Fund and announced an Executive donation to it of £2.5 million. The fund will help the CGCS meet the costs of team training, preparation and participation in future Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games. The Executive and the trustees hope that the fund will attract matching funds from corporate and other sources.